Atomik Carbon popped on the scene in March 2014 with some prototype carbon tubeless mountain bike rims that we had a chance to test ride prior to their official launch. When they did formally debut for sale, they introduced a few changes to the norm (for the time…things move quickly these days!) with width-specific designs and beefed up sidewalls. During that time, they moved quickly to go to a hookless bead and fine tune the design before launch.
And they’re still moving quickly, using a breakfast meeting to show us their new tubeless-ready aero carbon road bike wheels and new 27.5+ and fat bike rims, the latter getting foam core ribs to make it super stiff…
The road wheels will come in 38, 50 and 85mm depths. They’re tubeless ready with a braking surface they say has been tested against the best performing competitors after pulling apart those rims and made these better via a special layup and resin mix. They have an U-shaped aero profile similar to the competition and widths measure at 25 external / 20mm internal wide on all three depths.
They’ll be sold as complete wheels only with 18 front/24 rear spokes with a 2:1 lacing on the rear, even on the disc brake versions. Hubs are their own design, use Japanese bearings and will be compatible with all axle options.
Road wheels will retail $1,499 and ship with brake pads, rim strip, and valve stems. Weights are TBD. They should start shipping in November. Choice of 13 colors for graphics, which will be more subtle than their MTB graphics
The new Chubby 27.5+ borrows heavily from the prototype fat bike rims they teased earlier this year.
Technically, it’s a single wall rim with no voids. But, the wall wraps around two foam core sections on either side of the spoke holes. It’s a PVC based aerospace foam core laid into the rim during molding, so there are no gaps or open spaces. The center section remains solid carbon so it’s strong enough to hold spokes under tension.
The 12k weave isn’t cosmetic, it’s structural and helps improve durability and structural integrity, adding strength, stiffness and impact resistance. Their weave doesn’t come in to the factory as pre-made sheets of generic carbon. Instead, their manufacturer brings in raw thread and weaves it in house in a layup specifically for bicycle wheels.
Underneath the outer layers is a glass fiber layer that adds more structural strength to hold it together in the event of major impact damage. The sidewalls are hookless with a bead channel to help seat tubeless tires.
The Chubby rims measure in at 43mm wide externally, 36mm internal. They’re designed to fit existing 29er trail bikes with up to a 27.5 x 3.0 tire depending on frame clearance.
Claimed weight is 480g, and retail will be $535 when they start shipping this month. Graphics will be printed on the rim, not the sticker shown here.
After a very long development cycle, the Phatty fat bike rim is now final, getting a modified center channel and bead bump to make it easier to inflate a tubeless tire. It’s also been beefed up a bit from the early prototypes we saw, yet it still comes in at just 580g
Width is 85mm external, 78mm internal. Retail is $600 and they should also start shipping this month.
Complete wheels with DT Swiss hubs will be coming. All of their rims and wheels are sold through bike shops only, but you can check ’em out at the link below.
